“2013 is proving to be the year of the console hardware refresh,” he said, speaking to the BBC.
“Although it’s exciting, it’s not nearly as exciting as when the Xbox 360 exploded onto the gaming scene just over seven years ago.”
“Back then, the 360 represented a huge leap forward in gaming,” he added, “with a tangible increase in performance and fantastic multiplayer support.”
“Gamers and game-makers were justifiably super-excited.”
Molyneux says that the world has changed since then, citing “tablet, mobile PCs and smartphones” and saying the manufacturers of such equipment are “refreshing their hardware on what feels like almost a weekly basis.”
He also mentions Valve, with the Steam Box.
The industry veteran says that the problem for Microsoft is how to justify its new console – to be revealed at 6pm tonight, UK time, in the face of a vastly different market.
“Its competition is no longer Sony and Nintendo, but rather Apple, Google and Samsung,” he added.
“When I used to work at Microsoft the key phrase that I used to hear bandied around was the next Xbox should be ‘input one’ on people’s living room screen. Nowadays I’m an independent designer and I just want the next Xbox to be a great gaming machine.”
“It should have great connectivity, so I can play spectacular games with my friends and be sold at a reasonable price, perhaps around £200.”
“That should be Microsoft’s goal rather than persisting in trying to make it a box for everyone.”
Source: BBC.
RudeAwakening
Get back in your box Peter Molyneux! :p
bunimomike
Aye. Go and polish your cube, Peter. You can come out to play when you develop a game which you don’t tout as the second coming and then subsequently shoot it down after launch (much to the dismay of the game’s fans) with words like “I wasn’t happy about {insert game title here} and knew that we could do better.”
Peter Molyneux’s wife – please deny him whatever’s top of his “rude time with the missus” list until he complies!
Wardy-77-
Freaky Naughty!
KeRaSh
Why do people still bother to inteview this guy? He completely lost the last shred of relevance to the gaming industry.
Wardy-77-
This guy bore’s me :0..That is all.
philzy85
“Its competition is no longer Sony and Nintendo, but rather Apple, Google and Samsung,”
Doesnt he mean “is no longer just….” He sounds too much like a fanboy to me
double-o-dave
He’s a Witch! Burn him!!!
ron_mcphatty
I sort of know what he means about last generations announcement season. I didn’t pay much attention to the XBox 360 but the PS3 with its blu-ray drive, PSN, media capabilities and HDMI right out of the box seemed incredible. The PS2 could do HD, internet gaming and media storage but it was a monumental faff, to have it right there in one shiny box seemed awesome. The PS3 is exciting, but its not a revolution. Well, it isnt a revolution yet, there’s still time I suppose.
ron_mcphatty
Oops, I meant the PS4 is exciting.
cam the man
I can’t wait to get my hands on the PS4 and I’m looking forward to E3 more than ever before.
boeboe
Sick of this talk…get em out!
TSBonyman
So, he wasn’t invited to the xbox event this time around? :P
XisTG
Was the 360 that exciting?
Eldave0
Maybe not to everyone, but the concept of HD gaming and proper console online play (not to mention a new Perfect Dark) was enough for me to get back into gaming after a 5 year break :-)
I’m excited to see what the new Xbox and PS are capable of but I’m not itching to buy one this time around as it will no doubt be more of the same (or indeed worse if you include micro transactions and free-to-play models)
XisTG
Back then I was more into my PS2 than the whole gaming industry, so I skipped that. But now I’ll be watching the live reveal, even if I won’t be getting one :)
It makes sense though; to me all those things came with the PS3, even though it was launched later.